Friday, December 5, 2008

"Lives of a Cell"

Today I thought I will diverge from my usual post about some cell lessons. Today I would like to share a favorite quotation from an author who made me think about cells in a different way. I'm talking about Lewis Thomas who wrote "Lives of A Cell" sometime in 1971.

I'm lucky I was able to listen to Lewis Thomas in person when I was studying in the US in 1979 - 1980. He was as fascinating in person as in his book.

The following lines are found in the 1st page of his book."I have been trying to think of the earth as a kind of organism, but it is no go, I cannot think of it this way. It is too big, too complex, with too many working parts lacking visible connections... If not like an organism, what is it like, what is it most like? Then, satisfactorily it came to me: it is most like a single cell". - Lewis Thomas "Lives of A Cell"

What do you think? Why did Lewis Thomas think of the earth as like a single cell?

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Welcome

Hi,Welcome to my cell blog. The reason for this blog is written in my first post "why this blog" last October. Writing/talking about cells has developed into a kind of mission for me. I hope you will join me daily or visit every now and then and discover or rediscover more about the wonders of the cell.

This blog is dedicated to my former students and teachers who inspired me through the years. It is especially dedicated to the high school teachers who requested me to write a book. This might serve as a prelude to a book, who knows.

Please leave comments if anything strikes you or you may write me at my email - baby.angtuaco@gmail.comIf you have questions or if you want me to write anything about cells please tell me too. We can work on this together.

I got several blogs one of which is: http://getinspired-photoquotes.blogspot.com/ wherein I share inspirational quotes with photos. I also have other blogs on photography, happiness, and science, as well as about the Philippines.